“I know you don’t, Lady Catherine. But I promise I’ll make it right. If I have to, I’ll guarantee De Bourgh’s investment—out of my own pocket. You won’t lose money on this.”
“You will what?”
“I will buy Long Borne Suffering’s contract myself. Don’t terminate them.”
Charles looked back to the horrific image on the screen while he listened to Darcy and everything clicked into place. “I’ll buy half,” he told him in a firm voice.
“Charles?”
“Oh no, Will. I have no idea what you did, but I don’t want you owning anything of Jane’s.”
Richard watched and then quietly announced, “I’m in too.”
Darcy looked at the men and then turned his attention to the phone. Catherine was listening carefully. “I heard that. And I will hold you to it.”
“Put it in writing. We’ll sign it,” Darcy growled.
“Oh, you will. Trust me on that, Darcy,” Catherine said in a clipped voice and hung up.
Jane’s song was over, and the two-minute warning was given for the main show. Slurry was out of their seats, and from their position, they watched Long Borne Suffering enter the room and take their seats toward the back. The women looked at Slurry with resolve as they took their place, knowing this might be their last time there.
Charles tried to go back to Jane, but Caroline and Darcy stopped him. “Wait for the break,” Caroline said.
Charles turned angrily on Darcy. “Tell me what happened, everything.”
As the show opened and the host sang and made jokes, Darcy softly whispered the story of the previous night, of that morning, and of the song that triggered LBS’s reaction.
Charles listened, his face expressing the betrayal he felt. “You told Elizabeth about my father? No wonder Jane—damn it!” His eyes narrowed with anger. “I should blame you for all of this, but I was the fool who trusted you!”
Darcy swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Charles. It’s my fault. I let my temper get control of me. I fucked up. I shouldn’t have had us do that song.”
Charles was struck by Darcy’s apology and the genuine regret he heard in his friend’s voice. “I just hope I can make things right with Jane.”
Darcy nodded. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“You’ve done enough.”
At the break, Slurry lost no time following LBS out of the theater and into the crowded lobby. The girls stood together, posing for pictures. A pretty woman approached Alex as he stood nearby.
“Alex Lucas? I’m Kristin D’Andrea, MTV News. We would like to have Mark Cole interview LBS when the show is over.”
Alex nodded. “That’d be fine.”
Kristin smiled as she recognized Anne de Bourgh approaching them. “Anne, you must be happy.”
Anne smiled and lied through her teeth. “We are so proud of all our artists, and LBS has certainly proven themselves tonight.”
“I heard,” Kristin said confidentially, “that management wants to work out a deal with De Bourgh to have the footage of the pre-show made into a video.”
Anne smiled and winked, and then laughed as Kristin moved off. “You’re damn lucky, Lucas,” she breathed coldly under her breath.
“Don’t I know it,” Alex replied while he smiled to the crowd.
“Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth froze as she heard his voice. A chill raised goose bumps along her arms. She wished she could be angry with him, but she couldn’t. At this point, she just felt sorrow about everything. She turned to Darcy and smiled politely.
Darcy’s heart contracted painfully with her polite smile. “I wanted to compliment you,” he told her. “Nice show.”
“You too,” she said coolly.
Darcy understood her perfectly. “We’re not done yet.”
“I am,” she replied quietly and moved off.
They watched each other as Richard slowly moved closer to her. Richard had an open smile on his face, revealing his clear admiration for her new look.
“Hey, Char,” he said easily. “You look great.”
Charlotte leaned forward and without thinking about it, lightly kissed him on the lips. “Thanks, Richard.”
As the words left her mouth and she pulled back, they were both stunned as they became aware of their actions. Suddenly all the easiness between them was gone.
“How was your week off?” Richard asked nervously.
“Good,” she answered automatically, then smiled quickly. “It hasn’t really been much of a break. We’ve been doing appearances almost every day.”
Richard nodded, suddenly very aware of his hands, which wanted to touch her again. He was so focused on controlling them he almost missed her question.
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been good,” he replied. “I’ve been doing some thinking.” He looked down at his feet, then back into her face, laying his emotions bare to her. “When we get back together for the tour, maybe you and I could talk.” He paused and smiled uncertainly. “There are some things I need to tell you.”
Charlotte looked at him, unable to accept the open affection in his face without breaking down. “
“Oh, you’ll be there. Your performance was a huge hit. You’re now De Bourgh’s latest discovery.” His voice emphasized the last word.
“Oh,” Charlotte said, her surprise evident.
“That is, if you want to come back to the tour. I…” he paused and shrugged. “We would all be very sorry to see you and the others leave.”
Charlotte thought a moment, completely stunned by the change in their fortunes. “We’ll have to see what happens, won’t we?” she replied cryptically and walked away. As she returned to the theater, she found she couldn’t erase the vision of Richard’s face, of his open affection and admiration, from her mind.
Charles came up to Jane and stood next her, handing her a drink. He tried to talk to her, but when he opened his mouth, he found himself speechless. He could only stare at Jane, his eyes overflowing with emotions.
“Not now,” Jane said quietly, all the while maintaining a pleasant expression. “Not here, Charles.”
“Jane,” he choked out.
“No.” Her eyes looked into his, and for a second the curtain lifted and Charles could see the ruined emotional landscape she was hiding from everyone. “No, Charles,” she told him as the curtain fell and Jane returned to her bright and smiling mask.
Charles felt like his soul was being ripped from his body as he watched Jane and Elizabeth walk back into the auditorium.
He spoke to Darcy, who was standing next to him like a shadow. “We are singing ‘Feel Me’ tonight.”
Darcy nodded in complete agreement. “Charles, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t talk to me, Will,” Charles said, holding up a hand. “Just don’t talk to me. In fact, after tonight, I don’t want to see you again.”
“Ever?” he asked softly.
Charles exhaled a long breath. “We’ll see after the break is over.”
